India Blocks Facebook Plan

Available for over a year

Facebook has fallen foul of the Indian telecoms regulator over its Free Basics platform. The social media giant proposed to offer free but limited content to everyone and said it would bring millions of people online who otherwise would be left logged off. However, the stripped down service is up against claims that it goes against the principle of net neutrality. Our technology reporter Leo Kelion explains, and Brian Fung Technology writer at the Washington Post tells us how big a problem this could be for Facebook. The former oligarch and critic of the Kremlin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, is facing an international arrest warrant. He has been charged in Moscow with organising a murder in 1998 and the attempted murder of two other people. Is there a political motive behind these charges? We speak to Richard Sakwa, Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent. Seaweed has grown into a much sought-after commodity worldwide, but collecting seaweed along Ireland's coastline has been going on for thousands of years, free of charge. But new plans by the Irish government to capitalise on the popularity of the wet plant could mean beachcombing becoming a thing of the past. We meet the head of a cosmetics company who is fighting for political change and as New Zealand recognises Pastafarianism as a bona fide religion, we speak to an enthusiast of the new faith. Throughout the programme our guests are Peter Morici, Professor of International Business at the University of Maryland in Washington, and KumKum Dasgupta of the Hindustan Times joining us from Delhi. (Photo: A girl in India views Facebook Credit: Getty)